We center ourselves in prayer with you O Lord.
The feast day of Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) is October 4. We pray on how he modelled humility, concern for poor people; practicing a vow of poverty, peace and nonviolence, and care for creation for generations to come. Born into a wealthy Italian merchant family, Francis converted to a life of service to the poor after military adventures as a young adult.
All loving God, we pray for relief of those suffering from global poverty. We lift up the people of Burundi, the Central African Republic, Haiti, Somalia,the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Mozambique, whose Gross Domestic Product per person is the lowest in the world.
In 1205-06, God asked Francis to rebuild the ruined Church of San Damiano near Assisi, Italy. Besides refortifying the building, he provided a home for lepers and moved others to join his humble lifestyle.
All welcoming God, we pray for the safety of 120 million men, women, and children forced from their homes due to war, drought, political instability, and economic insecurity. We pray especially for the people of Syria, Lebanon, The Rohingya forced from Myanmar to Bangladesh, Ukraine, and Yemen.
Francis and his companion Illuminatus made the long journey to Egypt during the Fifth Crusade in 1219. They were welcomed by the Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil, the Muslim leader of Palestine, Syria, and Egypt. Francis was shocked by the treatment of Muslims and Jews during the Crusades. The Sultan allowed him to preach to the Muslims.
All peaceful God, we pray for a lasting peace between the leaders and peoples of Israel and Palestine, Leb
In 1223, Francis popularized the image of Christ born in a stable, witnessed by animals because there was no room in local inns. He later composed “The Canticle of Brother Sun,” in which he praised God with and in creation. He invited others to join in this hymn of all creation.
All creating God, we pray for the success of COP29 in, November 11-22, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. As we continue to grapple with the global climate crisis, may we act in solidarity for the protection of human life, the animal kingdom, air, water, and minerals also created by God.
As Pope Francis credited his patron in his encyclical Laudato Si (#10) with these words: “I believe that Saint Francis is the example par excellence of care for the vulnerable and of an integral ecology lived out joyfully and authentically. He is the patron saint of all who study and work in the area of ecology, and he is also much loved by non-Christians. He was particularly concerned for God’s creation and for the poor and outcast. He loved, and was deeply loved for his joy, his generous self-giving, his openheartedness. He was a mystic and a pilgrim who lived in simplicity and in wonderful harmony with God, with others, with nature and with himself. He shows us just how inseparable the bond is between concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society, and interior peace.”
May it be so among us and within us.
Amen
Leave a Reply